Can AI enable a cadre of excellent Career Facilitators?

India’s GDP is growing annually at ~7% - yet  the labor market is characterized by high wage inequality due to increasing informality of work. One of the big reasons that feeds this informality is the fact that close to 13% of India’s 245 million children dropout from secondary school, perpetuating the cycle of low income work and poverty. A big reason quoted by students is a lack of interest in academics and a lack of knowledge of options that are possible that would help them enter professions that promise social and economic mobility.  Our data shows that 90% of the 25 million students in government high schools are aware of less than 7 different professions, most of which seem unattainable. The government of India spends over $115 million annually on skills education and this has resulted in less than 1 million young adults finding careers; enrolment into these skilling programs itself is a huge challenge. 

Who guides these young adults, several of whom are first generation learners? It has been seen that teachers are the go-to for career advice. However, teachers, especially those in government schools do not have any formal opportunities to update themselves on emerging opportunities nor do they have the tools and resources to gauge the right fit careers for their students. India has 4.8 million teachers, ~30% of whom are high school teachers. They can be upskilled to meet the need, along with a trained, smaller cadre of career counselors. The need is large and evident.

Over the last 11 years, Antarang's model has worked with over 350,000 students who have been counseled by over 1300 professionals trained as career facilitators. We have seen that customised guidance and counseling that is relevant to the student’s unique situation is a critical factor to empower students to enter aspirational career pathways. 

The solution supports the secondary school teacher or the career facilitator who delivers a structured career awareness and readiness module for all students from grades 9 to 12 across all government schools. Students are administered tests to gauge their interests, aptitudes and realities; are exposed to more than 52 different career opportunities and are encouraged to make their career plans. This data, primarily gathered using OMR technology, helps measure outcomes like increased career awareness, capacity for self-aware career choices, and development of clear career plans. The career plans are validated by a Salesforce enabled backend. Detailed, customised career counseling reports are generated for each student which forms the basis for one on one counseling by the teacher/ career facilitator. A Whatsapp enabled Chatbot provides students with on-demand additional support. 

Career facilitators undergo standardized training before engaging with students. The training is supplemented by a self-paced Learning Management System which assesses and certifies the facilitators.  We collect detailed student data to assess counselor effectiveness and to understand each student's interests, aptitudes, and local opportunities. 

Despite being digitally collected, the data used to guide facilitator effectiveness is currently manually collated. To improve efficiency and impact, we propose developing an AI-enabled solution that integrates student data, observational data, and counselor performance from the Learning Management Systems (LMS). Enhanced with insights from chatbot interactions, this platform will provide real-time feedback and guidance.

Our AI-driven platform will trigger personalized messages to counselors via the chatbot, helping them customize their guidance for specific classes and identify additional needs of individual students. It will also facilitate access to relevant upskilling content on the LMS, allowing counselors to enhance their skills based on real-time needs and performance feedback.

While the solution is targeted at Career Facilitators, it is aimed at improving school to higher education/ vocational education transition outcomes for secondary school students. Our students are all from economically disadvantaged populations, and are  aged in the age group of 14-19 years of age. Among our students’ parents, only 12% were educated beyond the higher secondary level. Fathers of 8% of students and mothers of 12% never attended school. This is perhaps the reason that 67% of these students rely on career advice from teachers.  

The primary target population is the Career Facilitator - The Facilitators  are either secondary school teachers who already have a rapport with the students; or are young graduates who understand student mindsets. The average age of our Career Facilitators is 26 years; 30% of them are male and 70% are female. All of them are college graduates, a majority of them are first generation college graduates themselves. A significant percentage of the Career Facilitators have teaching credentials in some of the states that we operate in. 

As the Career Facilitators all teach in government schools with limited access to training and technology, it is critical to not only train them to counsel students but also to introduce and update them on emerging opportunities.This will ensure they are engaged and invested both in the process of career guidance but also in how students select their career pathways. 

 Data will be collected on the actions taken by the counselors  in response to the nudges sent to them through the chatbot and LMS. We will also track the aspirational plans and transition to higher education and vocations by students which are the key outcomes of the program. 

The intervention group will have a pilot and control group of facilitators who we will work with intensively through these performance nudges and compare the results of this group with the rest of the facilitators who continue to deliver the content by consistently checking on output and outcomes data as they have been trained to do - by logging in to the dashboard.

Antarang’s team is well positioned to deliver the solution due to the following reasons: 

1. Strong understanding of youth agency and aspirations through our work over the last 10 years. Our work has centered around leveraging the innate agency of youth - our three-pronged approach of building awareness and ability to make informed choices and providing access to opportunities has resulted in more than 80% of our students entering pathways to careers of choice. 

2. Strong data orientation has ensured that we track Career Facilitator performance and correlate this with student outcomes - this is being done manually for now. This data shows that student outcomes of the facilitators in the top quartile are 30% higher than those in the bottom two quartiles. This availability of data and evidence suggests that the AI driven nudges would be possible to trigger and that they would yield results. 

3. Rigorous outcome tracking, notably the NPS score and constant feedback on all program aspects ensures stakeholders’ perspectives are heard, needs are met and incorporated into the plan. This underlines our proximity to the communities we serve.

4. Strong data orientation - students, facilitators, programs team and the state officials have access to real time data that enables agility and choice.  

5. Our diverse team comprises professionals with competencies that span curriculum development, pedagogy, program implementation, systems change, data analytics, product management, research and facilitation.

6. A strong in-house technology team, supported by a vendor and consultant team who are well entrenched into our way of working and are responsive to our needs. The Chatbot team works through Glific, where we believe that these functionalities could be built together. The LMS team is well versed in using data to provide nudges and hence they understand the need and philosophy behind the solution. 

7. Team Antarang is very technology friendly since the very beginning and we see this adoption as a natural progression. 

The Antarang career model caters to youth aged 14-18 from India’s poorest public schools.

While students have been our primary target audience, Career Counselors  are key to delivering impact. We have tested a hybrid solution that uses traditional, in-person, synchronous training of facilitators along with an asynchronous, self-paced digital Learning Management System. The results of this pilot have resoundingly shown that this hybrid approach with digital resources shows amplified outcomes.

1. In LMS Pilot 1, we ran an A/B Test to compare synchronous (Live trainer-led) training and asynchronous (LMS) training. 47 career facilitators were divided into the 2 groups in a 23-24 split. which an equal split of facilitators who had pre-existing knowledge of our Program (rehired/staff) and those who didn't (new), those who were in this role full time, part time, or as co-facilitators, and those who had scored at different levels in their onboarding training assessments.

Through Pilot 1, we found LMS-led training to enable:

4.7 times the number of facilitators to reach a distinction level (≥90%) score as compared to synchronous training, which is a 370% jump.

- 5.1 times lesser number of facilitators received a critically low (≤ 50%) score as compared to synchronous training, which is a 410% drop.

- LMS received an average of 85.8% satisfaction level, measured through questions on quality, inclusivity, efficiency, and transparency.

- 70.97% reduction of synchronous training time for the modules developed on LMS 

2. In LMS Pilot 2, we used LMS as an in-person synchronous onboarding training assistance tool in the state of Nagaland, with 58 facilitators. Through Pilot 2, we found LMS-led training to enable:

- Average assessment scores for facilitators to be at 84.27% (data is still coming in - this is for 8/12 questions for all facilitators). Our goal for the average was set at 75%.

The traditional method of using a data dashboard powered by Google Data Studio that uses data collated on a Salesforce enabled platform and checking student outcomes to plan for classroom interventions required is what is currently followed. This depends a lot on the motivation of the Career Facilitator, or when manually pushed to them through the Program Quality team. 

Antarang seeks to leverage MIT Solve’s ecosystem to overcome specific technical, financial, market, and legal barriers as we scale our AI-enabled career counseling platform.

Technical Expertise and Partnerships: We face a technical barrier in developing an AI-driven solution capable of integrating and analyzing extensive data on student aptitudes, interests, and Career Facilitator performance. These are all on separate data platforms currently. Through collaboration with tech partners and academic institutions within the Solve community, we hope to gain access to AI development expertise, technology mentoring, and essential tools. This support would not only accelerate our development process but also ensure the sustainability and efficacy of our platform.

Sustainable Funding: While funding is not our sole focus, securing sustainable financial resources is crucial for the longevity and scalability of our solution. Solve’s network of funding partners could provide the necessary investment to pilot and scale our platform. Additionally, exposure to a broader network of potential donors and investors focused on educational innovations would be invaluable, enabling us to reach more counselors and, subsequently, more students.

Market Integration Challenges: Integrating our AI solution into existing educational and vocational systems poses significant challenges due to varying levels of digital readiness and the acceptance of AI-based tools, especially in less privileged areas. Since the solution would have sensitive student specific data, data security and protection is of concern to us - something that we would need to evolve and learn as an organisation. Engagement with the Solve community would offer insights into similar global challenges, providing proven strategies and valuable partnerships. This knowledge exchange would be instrumental in effectively navigating these systemic barriers.

Legal and Cultural Sensitivity: Operating in a context with significant sensitivity around data privacy, especially concerning students' personal information, requires us to navigate complex legal frameworks carefully. Access to legal experts and policy advisors within the Solve network would ensure that our solution adheres to both international data protection standards and local regulations. This legal guidance is crucial as we plan to scale our operations and potentially expand to new regions.

By participating in the Solve community, Antarang aims to transform the landscape of career counseling for India’s lessprivileged youth, by shifting the frame from the student to the Career Facilitator, thus ensuring that our solution not only meets current educational needs but also adapts to future challenges and opportunities.

While there are a plethora of digital technologies available to guide students through career exploration; we have learnt through our work over the last 11 years that a purely digital intervention does not work for young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. They need a trusted adult to guide them through this very critical career decision making process. Our solution focuses on these trusted adults - a cadre of career facilitators and equips them with AI driven nudges to provide the right guidance to students in their classrooms. 

 Therefore training teachers/ young professionals to be  effective career facilitators and supporting them through a technology driven  Learning Management System which gives them data backed nudges in the form of modules that they need to re-certify themselves or strengthen themselves on modules that show low student outcomes in the classroom helps them deliver improved outcomes in the classroom. Similarly,  giving students that advantage of in-person counseling backed by Whatsapp based nudges that provide details on student interests and aptitudes  leads to targeted counseling.   This solution can be applied beyond this use-case of  career counselors and extended  to mentors, parents  and teachers in the classroom for all learning outcomes

If students are guided by trained career facilitators, then they show an increase in informed transitions from Grades 10 and 12 to higher education, employment and entrepreneurship. If Career Facilitators are equipped by data-backed nudges that direct them to fill gaps in student learning or outcomes, then students experience directed inputs and improved results.  In the long run students continue to make informed career choices, perform well in their careers and experience greater than average career growth. If schools appoint these career facilitators, invest in a comprehensive data backed career education module, then there will be improved transitions from school to work, leading to young adults in careers of choice. 

The Impact Goals that we will measure are aligned to SDG 4 and SDG 8  and the indicators for them are as follows:

For Facilitators - 

An effective facilitator is measured by a Facilitator Effectiveness Scale which helps them move to great facilitators and assesses them on content knowledge, delivery, ability to plan sessions based on classroom needs and to meet student outcomes and influence parents and the school system.  

Metrics include : 

Creation of cadre of career facilitators  -

1. Number of young professionals certified by Antarang Foundation as”great”  career facilitators 

   2. Students feel supported and guided in careers - 

XX% of facilitators show  80% of their students having a clear aspiration. 

XX% of facilitators have 80% of the students having clarity of career plan

3. Students feel supported in making an informed career transition - 

XX% of facilitators have at least 80% of the students who have given their board exams continue to have clarity of career plans after grades 10 and 12 and have taken the first steps   

4. No of Facilitators who access and act on nudges through the LMS and Chatbot

5. # of facilitators that show increase of more than 1 point on the effectiveness scale-based on focus areas of Prep (Planning), Delivery inside classroom (Execution) and Student participation (Engagement Outcome)

6. # of students who are nudged to make changes in their career plans during counselling 

Our solution integrates 4 core technologies: A WhatsApp based chatbot, a Moodle-based LMS, Google Data Studio and Salesforce.

WhatsApp acts as the primary interface, offering familiar communication. Customized chatbot flows nudge facilitators on WhatsApp adapting to their performance in classrooms. 

Moodle-based LMS serves as the educational backbone, facilitating content dissemination and assessment. Facilitators access courses, quizzes, and videos at their own pace. The LMS tracks their progress and gathers feedback. 

Salesforce manages data, all counselor information and maps it to student performance within their assigned classrooms. Insightful reports and dashboards provide facilitators with real-time visibility into their performance. 

Data is visualised and available for decision making through a dashboard that is built using Google Data Studio and pulls data from the Salesforce enabled backend. 

What we are aiming to build are nudges to the career facilitators through the WhatsApp Chatbot and the LMS. These nudges would use student outcomes / class level outcomes that would trigger remedial directives in the form of messages or actions that the Career Facilitator would need to follow. 

Full time : 6 

Consultants : 2 

Antarang has been working with disadvantaged adults and guiding them in their career choice since 2012. In 2016, a technology backed using Salesforce was created to match student interests, aptitudes and realities with career opportunities. In 2020, a WhatsApp based chatbot was launched to provide access to students to 24*7 career information and guidance. In 2021, dashboards were launched for facilitators to log in and check how their classrooms were progressing and take remedial measures where required. In 2022, a Learning Management System was launched for facilitators to upskill themselves at their own pace. This solution brings all these together. 

Antarang’s model and core philosophy is based on equity and providing access and opportunities to all. Hence our endeavour is for it to translate into our other team spaces as well:

1. Recruitment policies to increase diversity:  We hire for our long term interns only from youth who are our student Alumni or from similar socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds so this gives them a pathway to explore opportunities. We also provide them support to grow and develop into higher levels and larger roles in the organisation. Currently ~30% of our team is from similar backgrounds.

2. Inclusive Working Policies - Hybrid and remote working: We have a policy where 10 days in a month a team member needs to work from office and the rest they can work from home if required. This gives flexibility to team members who are caregivers to family members (or can’t afford paid care) or parents to young children. We also have 10 working days in a year remote working policy to enable our staff to attend to any duties in their hometown or elsewhere.

3. Multilingual communication in Team spaces: In most of our team spaces and people processes rthe language is bilingual ie English and Hindi to ensure inclusivity. In some cases Marathi language is also used.

4. Expanded Parental Leave Policy: We expanded our earlier definition of Maternity Leave to a more holistic Parental leave which includes Maternity, Paternity, Adoption Leave alongwith Miscarriage Leave.

5. Strict Policies on Prevention on Sexual Harassment: We have a strict no-tolerance policy on sexual harrassment across genders and an Internal Committee that monitors the same. Periodic training and sensitisation is provided to the entire team on this.

6. Partnering with expert counsellor on Wellbeing and DEI:  Last year we partnered with an external organization called Narrative Practices India to dig deeper into what we are doing well and what can we do better wrt Wellbeing and DEI. Basis their findings and recommendations we set up a series of workshops and species to explore different themes such as Identity, Gender, Caste across our entire team.

7. Celebrating Champions of Inclusivity: Inclusivity is one of our core values and we had a celebration of team members who have championed Inclusivity through their work. These stories were shared across all our offices so others can feel inspired.

8. Quarterly Townhall: A space to anonymously share questions and feedback about Antarang which the Leadership team answers honestly or acknowledges that they will take into account. This does include feedback and questions around themes of DEI which we try to factor in.

While we are trying, we also know there is a long way to go yet but we are ready to make that commitment!

Antarang’s career solution ensures that 100% of students from low resourced high schools across 26 districts have access to high quality resources for career awareness and readiness. Through a 4-year structured and intensive career readiness curriculum run in public high schools, students are made aware of themselves, of the world of career opportunities available to them and are enabled to make aspirational career choices and informed transitions from school to work. 

We achieve this by engaging the school system and training secondary school teachers as career facilitators - equipping them with the skills and knowledge to guide students to make informed and aspirational career decisions and enter career pathways of choice. 

The trained career facilitators are also equipped with the tools to engage parents, a critical stakeholder in the students journey to become co-travellers in the career journeys of the students. A WhatsApp enabled Chatbot regularly provides necessary nudges and timely information to students, career facilitators and parents so they stay on course. 

The school system in turn engages local industry as partners to provide critical industry exposure to students so that they gain valuable work experience through job shadowing, exposure visits, short term projects, internships and conversations with relatable role models. 

The organization operates as a team of teams - each geography is an independent tripartite unit that has Antarang team members (a program operations expert, a program quality expert and a training expert); a local implementation partner; and the local government education officials. Program support officers support teachers in delivering the curriculum, collecting data and coordinating with local industry partners. 

Backbone functions like curriculum development, data analysis, fundraising, donor relations and financial management are provided by a centrally located Antarang team.  

Antarang's work is all through existing government systems and other partner organisations. The sustainability plan is to ensure that the government integrates the model and includes it in the education budgets of the state. We are already seeing early success of the same in states like Rajasthan which is integrating all components of the model into state education budgets. We believe that this AI enabled nudges to Career Facilitators through WhatsApp and the LMS will also be included into government budgets. 

The other revenue stream for the model has been paid partnerships with NGOs as well as schools and colleges. Each component in the value chain is priced at different levels and partners pay to incorporate the components as part of their offerings to their students.